THE TECHNOLOGIST. [March 1, 1864- 



378 ON INDIAN FIBRES 



also, from Daphne cannabina, bamboo, &c; and even from the fibres of the 

 jute, by Mr. Hollings worth and others, in the form of silver, writing, 

 and cartridge paper ; though it had been said that the latter fibre could 

 not be bleached. In the samples shown in 1862, by Mr. C. F. Jeffrey, 

 the difficulties attendant upon the bleaching of jute appear to have 

 been, to a very considerable extent, overcome. The jurors in the class 

 of papers awarded, at Paris, an honorary medal to the commissioner 

 of the East India Company, for the active researches made through 

 their extended possessions to discover materials fitted for the manufac- 

 ture of paper. 



That there is no lack of materials for paper -making may be gathered 

 from the variety of substances which have been proposed as substitutes. 

 Between 100 and 200 have been recommended, and a fair proportion of 

 these have formed subjects for special patents. In M. Louis Piette's 

 ■work now before me, 'Die Fabrication des Papieres' — edition 1861 — 

 there are nearly 300 specimens ol paper made from different materials 

 or mixtures. Some of these form excellent pulp, but are practically 

 useless because of insufficient supply ; others are so defective as to 

 prove, that the resulting paper is incapable of resisting strain ; whilst 

 perfectly suited for giving body to the paper, they require the admix- 

 ture of a more tenacious material. In the latter category (observes Dr. 

 J. Forbes Watson), we must place straw and other stems which contain, 

 at best, but a small proportion of indifferent fibre, and whose apparent 

 strength is owing rather to silica than fibre. 



Although we fully admit the possibility of removing the great body 

 of the silica by chemical agents, yet do we injure the strength of the 

 paper almost in the same proportion. Certain it is, that those newspapers 

 which are printed on straw paper still contain a considerable quantity of 

 silica. Now, my object is not to depreciate straw paper ; I admit its full 

 value, and believe it of extensive applicability. But, in many cases, I 

 cannot but think that it would pay better to substitute a more promising 

 material, than to use a very inferior one, of which larger bulk is re- 

 quired. Thus the strength of the Rhea fibre (Urtica nivea) is so great 

 that the tow might, perhaps, be used with advantage in small quantities, 

 to supply the defectiveness of materials partaking of the characteris- 

 tics of straw. In practice, this is already acknowledged, and it is only 

 for principles that we are contending, for almost all paper consists of 

 rags with varying proportions of raw fibres. 



" Possibly," Dr. Watson adds, " thus some of our best and strongest 

 Indian fibres may be employed to give tenacity ; but it is improbable 

 that any could be imported specially for the paper manufacture, as 

 those which would have to compete with rags would not be of sufficient 

 strength to compete with the articles to be had nearer home. If suit- 

 able machinery could be established in India, so as to turn to better 

 account her boundless resources, then her superior class of fibres might 

 prjbablj r be obtained at a cheaper rate ; but the proposal to introduce 



